Funny Thing About Lemons
by RavenChristina
Summary: “Vi watched as Nat picked up three more lemons and began to juggle them. ‘Funny thing about lemons…’ he said as he watched them fly from his hands, into the air and back again…” Takes place before “Chosen”.


Funny Thing about Lemons

By

Scoutfan22

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Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, ok? Just Nat. Even then though, I'm pretty sure all the characters I make up really own me…

Summary: "Vi watched as Nat picked up three more lemons and began to juggle them. 'Funny thing about lemons…' he said as he watched them fly from his hands, into the air and back again…" Takes place before "Chosen".

Pairing: Light Vi/OC; Molly/OC

Rating: K

Author's Notes: Funny thing about lemons. Weird title huh? Well, that's just how I am. I think up weird things like that.

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Vi brushed a strand of red hair behind her ear and went into the kitchen. Thankfully it was empty, seeing as the others were preparing for the battle either in the basement, the living room or the backyard. She'd just needed to get away from the chaos; it was driving her nuts.

She went to the fridge and opened it to grab a soda when her eyes caught the can of opened kippers on one of the shelves. They weren't Giles' or Spikes'; no. Only one person she knew ate kippers for breakfast on a piece of toast. They were Molly's.

A few tears came to her eyes as she remembered her British friend. She had been the first one to welcome Vi to the makeshift "home for potentials" as the girl had dubbed it. It had been Molly who had helped her adjust to the craziness, if you could do that. And suddenly in her head she saw an image of Caleb breaking Molly's neck and dropping her on the ground like a rag doll. They hadn't even been able to recover her body. She hadn't gotten the chance to say goodbye; Buffy couldn't go and claim the body because she wasn't Molly's kin.

Vi grabbed the soda and the can of kippers. She sat at the island and put the kippers in front of her and stared at them after she opened her soda. In a few minutes she was sobbing uncontrollably over them, her shoulders heaving as she cried. She couldn't save Molly; she didn't even try! She was just a small and defenseless weakling who couldn't do anything!

She didn't notice the brunette vampire with a soul who stood in the doorway, watching the young redhead sobbing over what looked like a can of kippers. He recognized them as Molly's. 'Poor Vi.' Nat still was haunted by the spunky British girl who had had a maddeningly infuriating but sweet crush on him. He had never gotten to tell Molly that her prince charming would come along; it just wasn't him.

He was most bothered however by the sight before him. Vi had at first come off to him as a scared-y cat who would never be called to be the Slayer, but his opinion had changed, coming to see her as a comrade-in-arms who just wanted to help people, even if it meant facing her worst fears. It hurt him to see her sitting there like that, and as he watched, he was suddenly struck by an idea.

"Hey Vi." He said rather loudly as he strode into the room. The girl sat up and quickly dried her eyes. "Oh, hi Nat." she watched him as he went over to the fridge and took out a beer. He turned, "mind if I join you?"

She nodded, and Nat leaned against the counter beside her. He picked up a lemon from the bowl of fruit on the counter and promptly bit into it, sucked a little bit of the juice out and then took a swig of his beer. "Gives it good flavor." He explained, and then repeated the process.

The girl's nose wrinkled, "I've never liked lemons."

He looked at her and smiled, "me neither, but this makes American beer taste better. I keep telling Willow to buy the British stuff, but oh well."

"I don't like beer either."

He shrugged and went back to drinking it. A silence descended upon the two of them, and then Nat set his beer down and the lemon.

Vi watched as Nat picked up three more lemons and began to juggle them. "Funny thing about lemons…" he said as he watched them fly from his hands, into the air and back again, "they are actually really under-appreciated. Did you know that they were considered the fruit of the gods in ancient Greece?"

"I thought that was pomegranates." She replied, watching as he tossed them higher and higher.

"Nah, that's just the food of the dead." He continued juggling them for a few more minutes, and then continued. "Lemons are a pretty small fruit if you think about it. I mean, they're nothing compared to watermelons and all that, you know? But, how many watermelons have you met that could make a man cry with just one bite? Some lemons have such acidity that their citric acid is used in some cleaning agents."

Vi's brow wrinkled as she tried to see what Nat was getting at. After a few minutes, she said; puzzled, "Nat, um… I don't get it."

He caught the lemons and looked at Vi. He grinned and deposited two of the lemons back into the fruit bowl. He kneeled down to her level and held up the small yellow fruit. His grey eyes were smiling as he said softly, "Vi… no matter how small we are, or whether we're bigger or stronger than most people, doesn't mean that we can't make a difference. It doesn't mean that we can't protect the people we love. Molly knows you tried to help her. Believe me; she wouldn't want you to be moping about and all that. She'd want you to try and get on with it, and do your best to help and protect the others. That's what I'm trying to tell you."

Vi nodded through her tears as Nat smiled and pushed the hair back behind her ear. "Don't worry," he murmured softly, "everything will be fine. You'll see."

As the two of them watched each other, Vi suddenly felt her nerve go up and she did something she never really ever thought she would have the courage to do: she leaned forward and kissed Nat softly. The vampire's eyes widened, but then they closed and he pulled Vi to him and deepened the kiss. Vi's mouth opened to his and they kissed for a few moments longer, then pulled away from each other.

"Vi, I…"

"Don't, Nat. if you say anything else it'll just complicate things. And besides," the redhead said as she smiled slightly, "I know there's somebody else. And I know you don't really like lemons."

Nat grinned sheepishly, "lemons meaning you? Yeah, you're right. I don't." He stood and grabbed his beer. "I'm gonna go find Buffy. There are a couple of things I have to discuss. You should go find the others so you can train a little."

"I will." Vi watched as Nat walked towards the door. "Hey Nat."

He turned, and she grinned, "Thanks."

He returned the smile. "Anytime, Vi. Anytime."

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10/22/2005 10:24 AM Aha, it's done!


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